If you're a B2B marketer or sales leader, you've heard the pitch: “Conversational marketing is the key to faster pipeline and happier buyers.” Maybe. But if you want to actually pick a platform—whether it's Drift, Intercom, Qualified, or something more niche—there's a lot more to it than demo glitz and Gartner hype.
This guide is for folks who want the real story: how to compare these tools, avoid expensive mistakes, and actually help your go-to-market get somewhere.
Step 1: Get Clear on What You Actually Need
Conversational marketing means a hundred different things depending on who’s selling it. Start by narrowing down what matters for your business:
- Is your sales cycle long or short? If it's 6-12 months, you need deep account data, not just chatbots.
- Do you need to qualify leads, book meetings, or support customers? Some tools are better at one than the others.
- Are you replacing live chat, or adding to your martech stack? Compatibility matters.
- What’s your budget—really? These platforms can get expensive fast, especially with per-seat pricing or “required” add-ons.
Honest take: Write down your top 2-3 must-haves. If your list is 10 items long, you’re probably setting yourself up for disappointment or a bloated tech stack.
Step 2: Build a Shortlist—And Ignore the Noise
The big names here are Drift, Intercom, Qualified, and a few others like LiveChat, HubSpot Chat, and Olark. Here’s what actually matters when you’re comparing:
Don’t get distracted by: - Flashy AI features you’ll never use - “Personalization” that’s just inserting a name from a database - Awards, analyst reports, or customer logos that don’t match your industry or company size
Do pay attention to: - Integrations: Does it play nice with your CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.)? What about Slack, calendar tools, and marketing automation? - Bots vs. Humans: Can you control when a bot talks vs. a human? How flexible is it? - Routing and Handoffs: Can you send qualified leads to the right sales rep, instantly? Or is it a black box? - Pricing Transparency: Do they publish pricing, or is it all “call us”?
Pro tip: If a vendor hides pricing or needs three calls to “customize a plan,” it’s a red flag for future headaches.
Step 3: Focus on What Drift (and Others) Actually Do Differently
Let’s cut through the marketing speak and get practical.
Drift
- Strengths: Strong B2B focus, especially for SaaS and enterprise sales teams. Great at qualifying leads and booking meetings directly to reps. Deep Salesforce integrations. Renowned for its “playbooks” that automate chat flows.
- Limitations: Gets pricey as you scale. Some features (like advanced routing) are locked behind expensive plans. AI is more buzzword than breakthrough for most use cases.
Intercom
- Strengths: Flexible platform that covers marketing, support, and product messaging. Large app ecosystem. Well-designed UI.
- Limitations: Can feel overwhelming—lots of features, not all relevant for B2B sales. Pricing can be unpredictable.
Qualified
- Strengths: Built for Salesforce users; focuses hard on account-based marketing (ABM). Strong on identifying web visitors and routing to the right reps.
- Limitations: Not as useful if you’re not a Salesforce shop. Less mature ecosystem than Drift or Intercom.
Others (HubSpot Chat, LiveChat, etc.)
- Strengths: Low cost, easy to deploy, good for basic chat or support.
- Limitations: Not built for advanced lead routing, ABM, or deep sales integration.
Honest take: If you’re a B2B company with a sales team, Drift and Qualified are usually the best fits. Intercom works if you want one tool for support and marketing. The rest are fine for small teams or basic needs.
Step 4: Test the Things That Matter (Not Just the Demos)
Demos will always look great. Most features will sound “transformative.” Here’s how to get real:
- Set up a trial or pilot. If a vendor won’t let you test with real data, walk away.
- Test your key use case: e.g., qualifying a website visitor and booking a meeting with the right sales rep.
- Try breaking it: What happens when the bot gets confused? Or a lead isn’t in your CRM?
- Check speed and reliability: Slow chat or frequent outages kill adoption.
- Ask your sales team: Will they actually use it, or will it collect dust?
Pro tip: One hour with your sales team using a real chat flow will tell you more than a dozen vendor sales calls.
Step 5: Don’t Over-Engineer (or Over-Buy)
A lot of companies fall into the trap of buying the “enterprise” plan with every possible feature. Here’s what usually happens:
- You end up using 10% of what you bought.
- Admins get overwhelmed. Sales reps ignore it.
- You’re locked into a multi-year contract with a tool nobody loves.
Instead, start with the basics: - Qualify leads - Book meetings - Route to the right person
Add more (AI, complex playbooks, analytics) only when you’re sure you need it and your team can actually use it.
Step 6: Watch for Real-World Gotchas
Here’s what nobody tells you until it’s too late:
- Implementation takes longer than you think. Plan on weeks, not days, to get routing, integrations, and playbooks right.
- “AI” is mostly rule-based. Don’t expect a bot to close deals. It’s about speeding up hand-offs, not replacing sales.
- Sales buy-in is everything. If reps don’t trust the tool, they’ll go around it, and adoption tanks.
- Pricing jumps fast. Most platforms get you on base plans, then upsell you on basics like custom routing or advanced analytics.
What to ignore: Case studies featuring logo-stacked Fortune 500s. You’re not them. Focus on companies your size, with your sales cycle.
Step 7: Make the Decision and Set a 90-Day Review
Once you’ve tested, compared, and gotten your team’s feedback, pick the tool that’s easiest to deploy and solves your top 2-3 problems. Don’t fall for “just one more feature” thinking.
Set a 90-day review: - Is it actually driving more meetings or pipeline? - Are reps using it, or just marketing? - Is support responsive when you hit snags?
If it’s not working, don’t be afraid to pull the plug or switch. Most damage happens from inertia, not from making a quick change.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Keep It Moving
Don’t waste months overthinking chatbots. Figure out your must-haves, test for real, and don’t let “AI” or fancy talk muddy the waters. The best conversational marketing platform is the one your team actually uses—and that moves the needle for your pipeline. Start simple, review fast, and don’t be afraid to iterate. That’s how you win.